Each year the grand entrance hall of Claridge's is transformed into a vision of Christmas. This year is no exception: one of fashion's most influential figures, Karl Lagerfeld, has been granted the honour of designing the tree. Unsurprisingly, the result is both impossibly chic and unique.

As the creative director of both Chanel and Fendi, Karl Lagerfeld's interpretation of festive flora was bound to be imaginative. The sixteen-foot-high tree is upside down, with its silver gilded roots reaching upwards to the lobby's ceiling. This tree definitely lives up to expectation. It's crowned with a mirrored star that reflects rays of light all around the space, creating an extraordinary atmosphere.

Karl Lagerfeld's 2017 creation in the Claridge's entrance hall.

Lagerfeld took inspiration from his early years in Germany: he said of the collaboration, “Christmas trees are the strongest ‘souvenir’ of my happy childhood.” This link is reinforced as the tree is hung with snowflake decorations made by German craftsmen. It's Christmas the Karl way.

2017 marks the eighth year that Claridge's has invited a creative mind to transform their Christmas tree. We've seen a brightly coloured, jewel-like Sicilian Christmas tree courtesy of Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana; a silvery, egg-bearing tree from Kally Ellis of super-florists McQueens and an underwater coral like tree, decorated in sea horses, fish, anemones, from Dior's John Galliano.